Coronavirus: Ryanair, Aer Lingus to suspend all Italian flights for a almost a month

Ryanair is to suspend its full flight schedule to and from and within Italy, following the decision of the Italian Government to "lock down" the entire country to contain the spread of the Covid-19 virus.

The Irish Times understands that Aer Lingus is also set to cancel its full schedule to and from Italy as of Wednesday March 8th although a formal announcement has yet to be made.

From midnight on Wednesday all of Ryanair’s domestic flights in Italy will be cancelled until Wednesday April 8th.

Flights out of the country will be suspended from midnight on Friday night, again until April 8th.

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All affected passengers have received email notices informing them of these flight cancellations.

Passengers looking for repatriation can obtain a free move to an earlier Ryanair flight operating up until midnight Fri 13 Mar.

Affected passengers will be able to choose between a full refund or a travel credit that can be redeemed on Ryanair flights in the next 12 months.

“Ryanair continues to comply fully with WHO and national Government guidance and travel bans,” a spokeswoman said.

“The situation is changing on a daily basis, and all passengers on flights affected by travel bans or cancellations, are receiving emails and are being offered flight transfers, full refunds or travel credits.”

The airline “apologises sincerely to all customers for these schedule disruptions, which are caused by national Government restrictions and the latest decision of the Italian Government to lock down the entire country to combat the Covid-19 virus.”

Aer Lingus is set to cancel its complete schedule to and from Italy from Wednesday until April 3rd.

Elsewhere, Norwegian Air has also temporarily halted flights to and from Italy because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Separately, Qantas Airways and Air France-KLM also announced massive cuts in flights.